GOO GOO DOLLS - Iris
PAULA COLE - I Don't Want To Wait
THIRD EYE BLIND - How's It Going To Be
USHER - Nice & Slow
MADONNA - Frozen
JENNIFER PAIGE - Crush
SISTER HAZEL - All For You
THE VERVE - Bittersweet Symphony
JANET - I Get Lonely
AALIYAH - The One I Gave My Heart To
LISA LOEB - I Do
LEANN RIMES - Looking Through Your Eyes
LOREENA McKENNITT - The Mummer's Dance
ARETHA FRANKLIN - A Rose Is Still a Rose
HANSON - I Will Come To You
BILLIE MYERS - Kiss The Rain

Modern AC had another good year in 1998 as the alternative format continued to
become harder yet less exciting. At one time message bands like U2, REM and Pearl Jam
were at the forefront of alternative music, specifically with music that had a point.
There had been a sense that the 90s was a rebirth of the counter-cuture movement, but
not so much by 1998.

The best way to characterize the state of music and radio in 1998 was that the corporate
world was firmly taking over while the independent minded factions were struggling to make
a mark. Due to the Telecom Act of 1996 several mom and pop radio stations across the country
were being gobbled up by big biz. In the process, the sound of radio from city to city was
becoming predictably the same.

One of the more refreshing acts to make a big mark in 1998 was Shania Twain, whose third album
Come On Over outsold everyone except maybe Metallica. The album sold over 15 million units
in the U.S. alone over several years, driven by a string of country/pop hits such as "You're
Still the One." It was mass appeal music with strong hooks and not just typical adult contemporary
wallpaper music.

Part of the success of the Shania Twain album was that it was produced by her husband, Mutt Lange,
who had produced several other big selling acts. While he was more known for his fancy production
of bands such as Def Leppard, Lange was able to pull back on production for Twain and let her
raw talent take the spotlight. It was one of the last hurrahs of the music biz in general, prior
to the industry falling into deep depression the following year.